Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-04-10

nate question at skst the peace of the
world would be assured. Unfortunately
il Bismarck, Moltke and Windthorst do
play skat, BOulanger, as we have taken
the pains to find out, though a capital
hand at picket is utterly ignorant OF skat.
Worse than that, overtures having been
made to teach him Boulanger) the noble
game of skat, it is stated on the most I'M
deniable authority Ga newspaper corre-
spondent) that his reply WAS, "Jamais =!
Plutot moutir." And SO through that
insane feeling of revenge the peace of
Europe has become perilous.
What is skat? Skat is game of cards.
How do you pronounce 1t! AS il is Il
game which Is certain to be very popular
beware of pronouncing it as it is spelled.
1t is not skat short as you would say
''s'cap' to your terrier when you wanted
him to chase cats, but you must give the
"a" its full breadth, as in claw" 1t is
very easy for German friend to say,
"Noddings is zimoler than to say skat
and TO pronounce 1t broberly." Thea you
may try it over and over again and ask
the truthful Teuton whether you have
caught the hang OF 1t, and he will reply
''Py chiminies! you have 1t not yet
skat, skat."
If it is hard to pronounce Improperly,
We may premise this paper on skat by the
remark that to play it. to understand IL,
Is much more difficult.
To introduce it before an American
public Messrs. Westerman have produced
"Skat, the German Game OF Cards." and
the Excelsior Publishing House another
work on the same subject entitled 'how
to Play Skat." More than that, among
"habitual and hardened skat players
there Is "a magnum opus, canon OF skat,
due to a congress OF skat performers who
sat in solemn conclaVe at Altenberg and
printed it there last year. In this work
is laid down in the most eX cathedra
manner all the rules and regulations in
regard to this august game. ConserVa-
tive as are the Germans, there had been
some rash ones VINO had presumed to take
liberties with skat. The Skat Congress
of Altenberg mathematics these icopo-
clasts, upbraids them, defes them, and,
in fact, brings them TO taw. Say there is
a dispute, rarely more than WOrdy one,
in such places where Germans congre-
gate, over a game of skat, and once the
dictum of the Skst Congress is declared,
and the chapter and text OF the book eX-
posed, at once the storm is quieted, for
respect for the written law is the finest
trait the German possesses.
Go, then. and spend an evening with
some German friends, who are Invariably
the kindest, the most hospitabie of peo-
pie, and ten to one you will see them en-
gagged at game of cards.
EsDo you play skat?" is the first ques-
ton.
"Skati What on earth is skat" you
ask.
''Not to know skat is to be ignorant of
the only game OF cards-the einzigor.
Why, 1t is revolutionizing Germany. Peo-
pie have been known to sit down for 36
hours, for 48 hours, at skat. 1t is de-
lirious, an all-absorbing game, one full OF
emotions. 1t lifts you up to the highest
pinnacle of hope TO dash you down to the
lowest abyss OF despair"
"Is it anything like pokerW you ask
hesitatingly.
Poker! Poker is simply game for
gam blers, untitled for Germans. We want
TO reform some American ideas, begin
ming with their cards. Just as lager beer
has driven out whisky so must skat sweep
before it poker. We are the champions OF
that improved condition of things, and
we begin with the card table. So"
lis it difficult gamer we ask, fired
with the idea of reform.
"Ah, ah"
''Hard to Iearnw
'So-so."
'How long would it take man Of or
binary capacity to acquire skat!
"Not less than two or three sit.ings."
"ADd to play it well?"
"Well, well! There are, say, a half
million of vlolins in the United States
one violin to every one hundred inhabtt-
ants. A German statisticIan has made
this wonderful calculation, and be in
cludes the 'cellos and the double basses.
Now, how many OF all these who possess
ylolins, white men and colored men, can
play the violin? | ask you that. SoV'
81 have no idea"
s'This same statistician declares that
though millions scrape violins, there are
| only three Americans who can play, the
proportional percentage is larger IN Eu'
rope, but not so very much. SoY Now
| follow me. There may be millions who
play skat in Germany, in the United
| States, in England-f0r skat Is beginning
| to pierce even there-and there are less
good and perfect skat players in the world
| than violin Virtuosi. There are two
only two-great skat players in New
| York-one is German merchant who
taught the game to the Italians and set
| them wild over IL. and the other is the
proprietor OF the leading comic paper
So?"
~ am afraid / might never know how
to play skat."
"Well. then, sit down and look" nc
saying this, seat was offered TO the
writer. "See how we play. Maybe you
| To try and ''catch on" was a very diff
| cult task. Now the skat learner in this
case was by no means ignorant of cards
| He could play whist, Boston, poker, pick
ct, cribbage, Phombre, euchre, beziQue
ecarte, penuchle, casino and many oChei
| games OF cards, and he therefore though
! that TO acquire an insight into the mys
teries of skat would be no very difficult
| task.
At once he fancled he had discovered
that it was game Of points and not o
tricks. SO far he was right, but Their
| again he found out that this was not al
ways the case. Then remembering BOs
ton, which is game of many comDina
tions, he became conscious that there
were not less than seven different kinds
| of plays in skat, and that there were be
sides numerous additions and exceptions
What pleased him most was TO see tina
there was the taintest element of BLUM II
it-not OF the belteT.skelter, mad. impul
sve, ''spoil horn or make spoon" Kind
which is the crazy and taking element il
poker, but a mild, moderate, subduei
kind OF wOrrlment, which mad name
Suddenly one player would address an
other rapidly aud would say "Tourne"
and the one spoken TO would retort "Solo 2
The person thus Intercepted would or,
''ln clubs" and then would be much an
moved when "Grandov was shouted, AM
then some one else would look quite mis-
cradle and broken-hearted.
Ma nd hra nh ui